So to this extent, politics is more like boxing than football. Ferenc Gyurcsány and Viktor Orbán’s encounter was an entertaining bout, though it was striking that both fighters had a preference for the left hook.

It must bring the business world little comfort to see the two candidates for prime minister competing to see who can spend more taxpayers’ money. The real left-wing rhetoric (sometimes shading into populism) came from Viktor Orbán on Friday evening. Though Gyurcsány sounded positively pro-market by comparison, even he failed to distance himself from the left-wing’s ancient belief in the provider state.